


One True Hatred

by autumnwriter



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Forbidden Love, Gen, Hero!Mark, M/M, Super Villains, Superpowers, Villain!Jack, super heroes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-09
Updated: 2016-12-22
Packaged: 2018-06-07 08:55:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6797464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/autumnwriter/pseuds/autumnwriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Super Hero Alliance and the League of Super Villains have been at war with each other since the two have been founded. Mark is the son of the founder of the Alliance, and Jack is one of the League's most notorious villains. But even with such hatred between them, love can spark from the flames of war. Darkness looms over the horizon, and the two groups must band together to face it. Yet with such differences between the two, they might destroy each other before the Darkness even could.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: Thomas

**Author's Note:**

> If you can't tell, I suck at summaries.  
> And from previous experience, this story is going to to take a looong time to update. You have been warned. Also it's like 12:38am on a Monday and I have school sooo...

        Prologue: Thomas

_3 Years Ago_

“Happy Birthday!”

Thomas took a deep breath and blew out the candles on his cake, a smile on his face while doing so. He was greeted by many hugs and laughs, many pats on the back. He turned around and saw his brother, Mark, the biggest grin on his face.

“You’re old,” he said jokingly. Thomas punched his arm.

“Yeah, right.” They chuckled, drinks swirling in their cups.

“Come on, guys, it’s time for presents!” their mom called them over.

Family members and close friends huddled around Thomas, who was surrounded by a mountain of gifts. Some of them sat on the family couch while others stood and watched. Thomas grabbed the first gift he saw, labeled, “From: Mom.” He opened it eagerly, revealing the newest version of the drawing tablet he’s been absolutely begging for. Next came Mark’s gift, who gave him a remastered version of an old game they used to play a lot as kids. He continued on, opening gifts that ranged from new drawing pencils and sketchbooks to clothes and practical appliances like his own mini fridge. When the opening of presents was done, they played a few games and had more rounds of beer (except for Mark since he’s still twenty). It was around 11:30 at night when the last person left the party. Thomas and Mark were done cleaning up after everyone’s mess before their mom came down the stairs, holding a brown package in her hands.

“Thomas, I need to give you something,” she called out, sitting on the couch and laying the package on her lap. Thomas stared at her, dropping the broom in his hand and taking a seat next to his mom. “Before your dad died, he gave this to me to give to you once you’ve turned 21. He told me that whatever’s in here will help you in the future.” She handed Thomas the package. He began tearing away at the brown paper covering it, revealing a small journal and a letter inside.

“Woah…” Thomas whispered in awe.

“He also told me that you needed to look at it yourself. Whatever it was, he said it was very important that you read it.”

Thomas quickly ran up the stairs to his room, bidding his mom and brother good night. He entered his room and locked the door, tossing the remains of the brown packaging into the trash before sitting on his bed. He tore open the letter and read it to himself.

            _Dear Thomas,_

_I understand the confusion you must have upon receiving this letter, but the journal you now possess contains important information regarding the Alliance. Now, it’s very important that no one finds this journal or knows the content of it, especially Mark. Don’t tell anyone what you’ve learned from this journal, Tom. You must be asking yourself why I’ve trusted you with this information. Well, Mark is very young. I don’t know how well this information will sit with him. At least I know you’re mature, as far as I’ve seen. Then again, as I’m writing this you’re currently 18, running off into the woods to play with Mark. When you’re done reading the journal and have fully understood what it means to you, Mark, and the Alliance, I suggest you retire immediately. I don’t want any harm to befall you or your brother, but it might be harder to convince him to leave after the legacy I’ve left for the both of you. I understand this is a lot to take in, Tom, but I know I can trust you._

_Love, Dad._

**_~ ::: ~_ **

_1 Year Ago_

“Hey, thanks for helping me move in, Tom.”

“No problem. Anything for you, Mark.”

The brothers fell onto the couch. They were currently in Mark’s new apartment in the city, miles away from their house out in the countryside. Mark decided that living closer to the Alliance Headquarters would be easier to help him handle his duties. Thomas glanced at his brother, 24 but still acting like a kid. A rush of guilt tightened his chest, and he knew he had to break Mark the news before he was waist-deep in his duties.

“Hey, Mark, I’ve been thinking…” Thomas broke the silence in the room.

“Yeah?” Mark turned to him, wiping the sweat from his brow. “What’s up?”

“Well, uh… listen…” Thomas got up and started pacing around the apartment, unsure of how to address the problem to Mark. “I-I don’t know how else to say this, but…”

“Hey, are you okay?” Mark got up, too, trying to help his brother from having a panic attack or something.

“You should quit the Alliance.”

“What?!” Mark yelled, dumbfounded. “Where the hell did that come from?”

“I, uh, I’ve just thought of it for a while, and I think it’s best if you retired and moved on, y’know, be normal.” Thomas could feel the sweat roll down his neck. He knew how Mark loved being a part of the Alliance, but he had to do this.

“’Be normal’? The hell’s that supposed to mean?” Mark glared at his brother who refused any sort of eye contact. “Listen, Tom, I _love_ helping people. There’s nothing else I want to do in this world than help those in need. Plus, I’m 24! I can’t just retire this young.”

“Well, you have to.” _Dammit, wrong chose of words, Tom,_ Thomas thought to himself.

“What do you mean? You’re not the boss of me!” Mark’s voice bellowed. This was the first time he ever raised his voice at his brother.

The tension in the room was building up. Thomas didn’t know how to handle it, and he could already feel himself cracking under pressure. “It’s not safe, Mark. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“I’m the best damn hero in the Alliance. There’s no way I’m going to get hurt.”

“I- well, no, that’s not what I meant—“

“Then what did you mean, huh? What, are you just jealous because _you_ retired from the Alliance and _I_ haven’t?” Mark clenched his fist tightly, veins already popping out of his arms.

“N-no! Listen, Mark, you don’t understand—“

“What don’t I understand, Tom?”

“You’re weak!” Thomas finally yelled. “Your mind can’t comprehend what’s about to happen, and I’m trying to protect you from that! Besides, if you really want to follow up to Dad’s legacy, then you should retire like he did, too!”

“… _What?_ ” Mark’s eyes burned intensely, glaring intently at his brother’s own cool expression. “I’m _weak?_ So what, this is a battle of strength now? At least I’m not the one with the stupid super power. All you do is stand in the back while you let your damn ‘drawings’ take care of the business for you!”

“Mark, there are things out there you can’t handle. Not even _Dad_ could handle it, and you know damn well how good of a hero he was. Following in his footsteps won’t do you any good, so I suggest you lay off.” Thomas felt his heart racing. He didn’t mean for it to be this way, and he knows that Mark’s not going to listen to him no matter what he says, but he needs to get his point across.

“Oh, I get it.” Mark’s face lit up with a sly grin, almost a shadowy look in his eyes. “You’re scared. You’re scared that I’m going to be more than what you could’ve been. You’re jealous that I’m going to fulfill what Dad left for us and that _I’m_ going to be his true successor, and not _you._ My older brother. The cool, calm, smart, and creative brother. The mature one. Y’know, everyone always looked down on me. They always say, ‘why can’t you be smart like your brother Tom?’ or ‘why don’t you act your age like your brother Tom does?’ I’ve always been compared to you. I’m sick of it. I’m sick of you.”

The pain only grew tighter in Thomas’ chest. He’s never seen Mark like this before. In the 24 years they’ve known each other, this is the first time they ever fought. And that hurt like having a large sword thrust through your heart.

“Mark, please, I’m begging you.” Thomas pleaded.

“I’m sorry, Thomas,” Thomas’ heart broke in the way Mark said his name. “But I’m going to have to say no.”

“Fine then, you leave me no choice…” A pen was gripped tightly in Thomas’ left hand, and soon the drawing on his arm came to life. A tiger leaped out at Mark, pinning him down to keep him from struggling. Mark let out a string of curses before throwing the tiger off his chest like it was nothing. He saw Thomas run out the apartment window before flying on a saucer he drew.

Mark could play two at this game.

He leaped out of the window, flying towards his brother. Soon enough, pedestrians below were pointing at the strange figures that seemed to be flying into the sky.

“Don’t make me hurt you, Mark!” Thomas yelled out once they’ve gotten high enough into the sky for no one to see them.

“I should be saying that to you.” Mark reeled in his arm to land a blow at his brother, but before he could, his arm was restrained by vines that somehow tied him down. Mark followed the vines and found the source to be his brother, with the vines piercing through Thomas’ shirt and skin. Mark’s eyes softened for just a moment. He knew that drawing on his own skin like that will definitely do damage to Thomas, but he didn’t seem to care.

Mark tried the best he could to break free from the restraints, but they were surprisingly strong. “Don’t struggle like that,” Thomas called out, already looking tired and weary. “It hurts a lot more when you try to escape.”

“Well, you know better than to draw on your own skin,” Mark shot back at him.

“What, can I say,” Thomas said, half-jokingly, “I didn’t bring any paper.”

Thomas inched in closer to Mark, eyeing the bracelet he wore on both wrists. His Amplifiers, the source of every hero’s power.

His gift from Dad on his twelfth birthday.

 Thomas grabbed both in his hand, and Mark’s eyes widened. “No, Thomas, don’t,” Mark basically pleaded.

“I’m sorry, Mark.” With all the strength he had left, Thomas ripped off both of Mark’s bracelets off his wrists, basically breaking into a million pieces before falling down to the Earth below. The vines let loose of Mark, and he began limply falling back down. Still on his saucer, Thomas flew down to catch his brother in his arms, carrying him back to his apartment.

“Thomas, how…” Mark looked devastated. “How could you…?”

“I’m so sorry, Mark.” Thomas had to stop himself from crying.

They entered Mark’s apartment once more, and Thomas lay his brother on the couch. The saucer he drew slowly faded away, and the drawing of the saucer reappeared on Thomas’ arm, etched in his skin and bleeding out. The same went for the drawing of the tiger as well as the vines. Drops of blood fell on the floor.

“Go away…” Mark said wearily.

“Mark, please—“

“ _I SAID GO AWAY!”_ Mark’s voice echoed in the empty apartment. Thomas could see the tears fall down Mark’s face as he turned to face him. “Are you happy now…?” The drops of tears fell on the floor, mixing with the blood pooling from Thomas’ arm.

“You’re no brother to me.”

Thomas felt as if a million spears were thrown through him at once, pinning him down in place. The world seemed to swirl around him into a whirlpool of despair and tragedy. “I’m so sorry…” was all Thomas could say.

“I love you, Mark.”

“I _loved_ you, Thomas.”


	2. 1. Mark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Character Profiles
> 
> Name: Thomas Fischbach  
> Age: 26  
> Power: The Drawer's Ability  
> \- anything he draws, whether it's on paper or his skin, will come to life.  
> More Details:  
> Thomas is seen as the more mature of the Fischbach brothers. He's quiet, and he prefers to keep to himself. He was once a great prodigy to the eyes of the Alliance before he started slacking off. About a year after his 21st birthday, he quit the Alliance. No one is sure why he left so suddenly when he's been doing so well. He got into a fight with his brother Mark, and ever since then they've never seen nor spoken to each other. Recently, he's been quieter than ever, not contacting anyone outside of family and such. No one is sure what he's up to these days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HA, so this took a long time to update. I told you guys.  
> So I have many reasons why I was late.  
> 1\. Writer's Block.  
> 2\. I hate writing actions scenes.  
> 3\. Band camp.  
> But this chapter is like 6,000 words long, which is the longest I've ever written for any chapter.  
> Sorry for the long delay. And sorry if the end seems weird; I really wanted to post this for you guys.  
> Oh, and I also realized this published on a Monday again.  
> Enjoy.

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

“Ugh…” Mark blearily opened his eyes, squinting from the light pouring through the window blinds. His hand swatted around the night stand, reaching for the blasted alarm clock and then award himself with another five minutes of sleep. He did eventually find the damn thing and very unceremoniously slammed his fist down on the snooze button.

But Mark forgot about his whole super-strength thing and broke his alarm clock. Again.

“Damn it…” he muttered groggily before landing his head face first into the pillows once more. Before he could drift off into sleep again, Mark felt something jump on his bed and start furiously digging through the sheets, looking for her master.

“Chica… Chica, stop…” Mark tried to shoo his dog away. He even tried to push her off the bed, but Mark was too lazy to push her down all the way. Besides, Chica would only jump back up and started scratching at his bed sheets again.

Finally, Mark gave up and decided to get out of bed. He reached out for his phone to check any social media updates and of course to check what time it was. It was currently 11:53 am.

Mark had a meeting at 12.

Mark leaped out of bed and quickly ran to the bathroom, taking probably the shortest shower he’s ever taken. He found some random shirt in his closet and some pants he left on the floor, put them on as fast as he could, then ran out the door. He forgot to lock his door, but that didn’t matter.

Mark sprinted as fast as he could down the stairs and onto the sidewalk. He was glad to be living only a couple of blocks from Alliance Headquarters, but he still knew he was late. When Mark turned the corner and saw HQ, he didn’t even stop to show the guards his Amplifiers or ask the concierge where the hell the meeting was. He just hoped he’d run through enough doors and find it. And of course, security went off because some crazy guy just blasted through the HQ entrance and started randomly searching through rooms.

About 7 rooms later, Mark did find the meeting room he was looking for. He busted the doors open and screamed, “I’m sorry I’m late!” in his loud, booming voice. Many confused faces eyed him in bewilderment before Mark was tackled to the ground by security.

_Well, definitely not my_ best _day ever,_ Mark thought sarcastically to himself.

“Guys, it’s fine,” called out an exotic accent. “Let him go.” Security obeyed the voice’s orders and let go of Mark, as well as removing the handcuffs that were already placed around Mark’s wrists. They mumbled amongst themselves, complaining about how nothing exciting happens in a compound filled with superheroes.

“Well, Mark, that was certainly an entrance,” Felix joked, helping Mark to his feet. “The meeting’s about to start, so you best find a seat.”

Mark dusted himself off and eyed the room for an empty seat. He finally found one next to his good friend Bob, otherwise known as Muyskerm, one of the greatest minds in the Alliance. “You’re pretty late,” he stated. Mark could only glare at him, for Felix had already started speaking.

Felix, also known as Pewdiepie, was the current Head of the Super Hero Alliance, a group of heroes sworn to protect the country and the world from evil. Felix slowly became one of the most famous heroes from the Alliance, having been trained by the founder himself. At headquarters, he was known as Sir Kjellberg, the calm and collected leader of the Alliance. Everywhere else, he was the fun-loving goofball, Felix.

“I’m sure all of you are wondering why you’re here today, and that is because I’ve been receiving very important information about our enemies at the League.” For once in his life, Felix looked very serious, a menacing glint shining in his eye. Mark has never seen him like this before. Whatever this meeting was about was definitely very important and crucial if someone like _Felix_ was serious about it. “This, however, will be a matter we shall discuss later. For now, let’s start off with some Nemesis Reports. Bob?”

“Oh, uh…” Mark’s friend stuttered. Mark has known Bob for a long time, and he considered him as one of his closest friends. He was a man of law and logic. “Well, it seems my nemesis Lord Minion has been in hiatus for a long while now. I’ve been hearing some rumors flying about that he’s actually retired from the League, though I’m not quite sure if that’s true…”

“Well, at least that’s one less problem to deal with. If we have any confirmation that he is indeed retired from the League, maybe we can interrogate him about his experiences and why he left,” Felix explained. He called out the next couple of names, all heroes with nemeses and such. It took a while for Felix to reach Mark, and it seemed he saved him for last.

“The last I’ve seen of Septiceye was last week when he tried robbing the Smithsonian archive and digging for some dusty files.” Mark faintly remembered that moment. It was honestly a really boring fight between them, mostly because Mark was trying his best not to damage any important historical artifact in that archive. “We’ve still been running reports with Smithsonian officials about what kind of files he was looking for. All those files are a bunch of junk anyway. It was just a lot of weird drawings that made no sense, and it had some writing in another language or something.”

“Interesting!” Felix piped. “That case is actually the reason why we’re all here. Of course, this is all technical shit that I don’t know how to fucking explain. So, I’ll have our analyst MatPat here explain basically everything you need to know.”  Ah, that’s the Felix he knew. The funny one who likes to drop a swear or two into very serious topics.

“Hey everyone!” the man smiled. “As we all know, the SHA was created by our great founder Grand Justice in order to keep the peace and order throughout the world. Sadly, after he retired from the organization at age 47, Sir Fischbach died at age 50 from cancer.” There was a brief moment of silence, and Mark could feel the heads turn to face him. He felt his chest tighten. His dad died when he was 18. “Sir Fischbach was a great hero to us all, and was not only remembered for his great feats of strength and power but as well as his great heart.” MatPat stood aside to show everyone the screen of the slideshow presentation he had. It was a picture of Mark’s dad, smiling with two boys held closely in his arms. Mark felt a hand tighten on his wrist, and he looked up to see Bob’s worried face. He whispered that he was fine.

“What does this have to do with the meeting?” Bob questioned after eyeing the weary look on Mark’s face. MatPat understood immediately and moved on to the next topic. Mark looked at Bob and thanked him.

“Well, despite being such a great influence to us all, there were many questions regarding his sudden retirement as wells as other things he often talked about. Sir Fischbach had this idea of three Forces that can be acquired as powers in certain people. For example, Sir Kjellberg over here is in possession of one of the three Forces, the Luminescence.” Felix simply nodded in agreement. “While on the other hand, we’ve received information confirming that the leader of the League of Super Villains, Cryaotic, is in control of the other force, the Corruption. However, information of the third Force is unknown, and it’s debated if there even _is_ a third one. But, after doing some digging, I’ve come to the conclusion that there is a third Force, and like the other two, it can be inherited in a human being.

“I’ve decided to call this third Force the Infinitude. It’s much like a bridge between the Luminescence and Corruption that makes them act in equilibrium; raising the sun every morning, raising the moon every night; light that leads the good people, darkness that leads to destruction; creating life then proceeding it with death. What kind of powers this Infinitude can possess is unknown, but it’s speculated that maybe the Grand Justice himself had access to these powers. Previous assistant reports and entries that dated back to the Grand Justice’s days at the Alliance have mentioned that the man himself did keep a journal. Assistants who’ve seen this journal close enough have also stated that it contained many strange images and confusing letterings, much like in the files that Septiceye had been trying to rob from the Smithsonian. The fact that one of most notorious villains of the League was trying to get their hands on these files can prove that maybe Cryaotic is also aware of this third Force. He might be trying to obtain these powers himself, possibly using them for evil or something else along those lines. But if it is true that these files and journals have information about the Infinitude and how to acquire such tremendous power, then it is very important as us of the Alliance to obtain these files before the League does.

“But then again, it’s just a theory.” MatPat took a seat at the table, and Felix got up to speak once more.

“Even if it isn’t true, if these files are important enough for the League to try to steal, then we need to get as much information about it as we can.” Felix turned his attention to Mark. God, what was with everyone and staring at him today? “Mark, we have evidence that points us to believing that maybe your brother Thomas Fischbach can help us acquire such information. Can I trust you to ask him to cooperate?”

“Um…” Thomas. Now that was a name Mark hadn’t heard in a while. “I’ll try.”

“Good.” Felix clapped his hands together very loudly, startling everyone in the room. “This concludes our meeting. Thank you for attending, and enjoy the rest of your day.” People started packing their things and leaving the conference room. Just as Mark was ready to leave, he found Felix to be standing in his way. “Mark, can I talk to you for a sec?”

“Sure.” Mark could already tell where this was going. Felix waited for everyone to leave the room before taking a seat back at the table. Mark sat next to him.

“Listen, Mark, about Tom…” Felix began. He already knew what happened between the two brothers. Mark remembers leaving the Alliance for about two weeks to recover before coming back. Sometime around those two weeks, Felix decided to drop by and ask what was wrong. “I know that you two haven’t spoken in a year, but we really need his help.”

“There’s no way in hell I’m talking to that greedy bastard again,” Mark spat plainly.

“Mark, it’s been a year. You really need to suck it up, man. Could you let go of your ego for like a second and ask your brother for some help?”

“No, you don’t get it Felix.” Mark stood up. He could just sit while he talked about this. “Imagine this: the one person you’ve known for your whole life comes up to your new home to help you move. Then, like thirty minutes later, he does a complete 180, tells you to forget about your dreams, and breaks the one thing that meant to you the most.” Mark took a deep breath. “Look, I’m never talking to that motherfucker ever again.”

“Mark, this is about saving the _world_. I get that he broke your dad’s gift to you, and I understand that they meant a lot, but we’re talking about millions of lives we need to save. If the LSV gets their hands on these files and deciphers them before _we_ do, it’s over.” Felix was on his feet as well, staring down at Mark, who was only a little bit shorter than him.

“Fine,” Mark shot. “Find someone else to go look for the information for you…”

“Mark, please—“ Their conversation was cut short by the sound of a large explosion going off in the distance. The two glanced at each other before rushing to the window, where the smoke from the explosion began to rise.

“Shit, isn’t that City Hall?” Mark whispered, mouth agape.

“Yeah, but what the fuck caused that?” Felix replied as he stared at the explosion incredulously. “Use that super-sight of yours and see who cause it.”

“I am, just let me concentrate.” Mark let his eyes focus in on the explosion. From the window, he spotted someone floating near the area. There he saw it, a slender figure hovering close to the City Hall, an unconscious woman in his arms. “It’s Sean, and I think he’s trying to kidnap the Mayor’s daughter.”

“Fuck. Well, we need to go.” Felix brought his arm to his face and touched the silver bracelet on his wrist. The bracelet began to glow, the light spreading across his body until it reached his face to create a mask. The light extended outwards from his back, creating a shimmering cape behind him. Felix looked almost god-like, Mark noted. He hovered slightly over the ground, his face almost peaceful as he transformed. As the light dimmed away, it revealed Felix’s suit underneath; a bright white shade, with streaks of gold and red, his bright blue eyes standing out against the warm colors.

“I’ll take care of the civilians. You deal with Sean.” And with that, Felix ran to the window, crashing it into many pieces before taking flight to City Hall.

_Maintenance is_ not _going to like that,_ Mark thought sarcastically to himself, gazing at the now-broken window. He gazed at the bracelets that were placed around his wrists. They were his Amplifiers, a source of power that can be used to bring a hero’s powers to its full potential, as well as keeping it in check. Without it, a hero would either be powerless or unleashing an immense amount of power without any self-control. Mark touched the bracelet and watched as streams of light flew across and around him. He felt a sense of warmth, though it wasn’t the same as it was before. His senses tingled; his eyes shined from the streams of light; he could taste a sort of sweetness in his mouth; he felt the warmth of the light, like having a silk cloth draped across your body; he could smell a hint of cinnamon and peppermint; he could hear the laughs of his dad or the soft howl of a puppy.

But it wasn’t the same.

Transforming into your suit felt different to everyone. Felix said it felt like he had too much coffee to drink, and he really needed to do something or he would go crazy. Bob would remember fun times with friends or sweet memories with his wife. Mark felt homely, but it was almost alien to him. Felix gave him new Amplifiers after his old ones broke, and ever since then it’s been different.

As the light around him exploded into many little sparks, his suit was revealed. It was a blue suit with red boots and gloves, a large letter ‘M’ spread across his chest in white. A mask replaced the glasses on his face, and his hair was dyed a deep shade of red. Mark followed in Felix’s suit by jumping out the window, and he began to fly to City Hall.

Mark sped over to the site of the explosion and landed in the middle of all the mess, eyeing the chaos around him. He could see the many civilians already rushing out of the compound, away from danger. Several Alliance heroes were already there, escorting civilians into ambulances or getting them proper medical care. Mark gazed up at the sky, where the dark gray smoke stacks contrasted the blueness of the sky, and he saw Sean. In his arms was the Mayor’s daughter, Marzia. Mark knew her as a teacher for 4th-grade students at the school he worked at. She was a nice girl, very sweet and kind. But Sean was the complete opposite of that.

He was cocky and arrogant, a little bit on the loud and annoying side (though the same could be said for Mark). He had silver-blue eyes that seem to glow in the dark, but unlike Felix’s blue eyes, Sean’s was more menacing and eerie. Mark will admit that he had a bit of charm, but only because of his gentleman-like mannerisms and the clothes he likes to wear.

Sean was classily-dressed in his suit, with is sleeves rolled up and black gloves on his hands, a ring on his left hand. He hid his staff to his side, a weapon he uses for hand-to-hand combat. Mark himself preferred to fight with his own bare hands. Despite his charm and slender look, however, the one thing that stood out the most about Sean was his bright green hair.

“Hey, Sean!” Mark yelled in his loud, booming voice. “Let her go!”

Mark tried to shrug it off, but he noticed that Sean got excited at the sight of seeing Mark. “Oh, if it isn’t Markimoo, the savior of us all!” he shouted back in his cocky Irish-accent. Sean began to slowly descend to the ground. “Looking for this?” he gestured to the body he held. Mark gritted his teeth. Sean saw this, and a sly grin ran across his face. “Well, you’re going to have to get through me. Sam, take care of her.”

Sean landed on the ground in the middle of City Hall’s front court, only a few feet away from Mark. Creeping behind him came a floating eyeball, green with a blue iris. It made strange sounds to Sean, as if communicating to him in some alien language, to which Sean replied in a volume Mark couldn’t hear. The eye wrapped its tail around Marzia before taking off. Mark took off after the eye before he was stopped by a strange green force field from Sean.

“Oh no, you’re not going anywhere.” Sean chuckled evilly. He aimed at Mark with his staff and projected forth a green laser, to which Mark took, defending himself with his arms. Like a boss. Mark broke away from the laser and flew in fast towards Sean. He needed to end this battle quick and make sure that Marzia was alright. But the one problem was that Mark was best at hand-to-hand combat, and Sean had mystical magic at his side. Though superhuman abilities weren’t Mark’s only powers. He also had a very simple form of telekinesis. Except Mark could only use it if he concentrated hard enough, and thanks to his ADHD and the quick-paced fights he liked to get into, that’s not his option right now. Oh, and it also gave him a massive headache, and Mark doesn’t want to deal with that.

Sean shot green energy in Mark’s direction, dodging the blast and rolling off to the side. He took a piece of rubble in his hands and threw it at Sean, hitting him in the shoulder. Sean growled, firing off another energy beam, the explosion hitting debris against Mark’s side and back, throwing him to the side. Mark rolled over to his feet before charging right into Sean, taking him off guard and tackling him to the ground. However, Mark was only able to throw one good punch to his face before Sean pushed him off. Sean had shoved him hard enough that Mark hit the back of his head on the pavement. But he quickly stood up, trying to balance himself on his feet.

Mark reeled in for another punch, to which Sean very quickly dodged to his side. Mark wobbled a little, then groaned in frustration. Punch after punch Sean had dodge every single one, and that made Mark very angry. Eventually, Sean grabbed hold of Mark’s arm, and using his staff, he hit Mark under his chin, causing Mark’s jaw to clench tightly. Mark broke free from Sean’s grip, using his other arm to bring a jab to his left side, taking the breath out of Sean.

“Heh, cheeky bastard…” Sean muttered under his breath. Mark felt confident; he didn’t know he had hit Sean that hard. A small part of him inside had hoped that he didn’t break any of his bones, but then he remembered that Sean was his villain, his nemesis. He let his ego get the best off him, and was surprised by a large piece of rubble that smack against his face.

Mark suddenly felt very dizzy. The world around him swirled in a mess of chaos, and there as a loud ringing in his left ear. He tried to remain focused, looking up at Sean to see that he used his magic to throw a large piece of debris to his face. Mark let his hand touch the left side of his face, drawing it back to see blood on his hand. Despite the constant ringing, Mark could hear Sean’s maniacal laugh. He decided to return the favor by delivering a large sucker punch right square on the bastard’s face, knocking him to the ground.

Mark got up, and the world had finally stopped wobbling, and the ringing was starting to die away. He walked over to Sean, towering over his body on the ground, Sean’s hand clutching his head as blood began to drip from his temple.

For a brief moment, Mark felt guilty, but then he remembered he needed to save Marzia.

Mark flew upwards, towards the floating eyeball that held onto Marzia. He was flying at full speed, determined to end this quick and not let anyone else get hurt. From the ground below, Mark could hear Sean’s voice calling out, “Drop her!” And so the eyeball did, letting his tail fall limp as Marzia started freefalling hundreds of feet.

She fell past Mark, who stopped in his tracks and raced to catch her. He reached out for her, but she wasn’t close enough. Mark felt a sense of panic as they descended closer to the ground. With as much strength as he could muster, he swooped in from below right before she touched the ground. Mark felt frazzled and dazed, having flied that fast despite his head injury. He felt as if the wind had vanished from his lungs. He started taking deep breaths as he checked for any cuts or bruises on Marzia. He was relieved that she was unharmed.

Out of the corner of his eye, Mark could see Sean struggle to his feet. With his staff in hand, he knew that he couldn’t just sit there with the Mayor’s daughter on his lap. Mark turned to his right and spotted a large piece of concrete lying among the dust and flames. He reached out his arm, focusing in on the concrete. It seemed to move just a budge, but he needed it quick for Sean was already on his feet, aiming his staff in their direction.

“Come on…” Mark pleaded, his arm shaking in panic and anticipation. The debris moved a little bit closer. There was a sudden flash of green and Mark thought he was over with.

He slowly opened his eyes to find himself and Marzia, shielded by the large concrete debris floating in front of them. With a mighty yell, Mark threw the concrete at Sean, crumbling into pieces upon hitting him. Mark heaved, his mind completely tired and throbbing from lifting the debris. He gazed at the unconscious Marzia in his arms.

“Mark!” came a voice. Mark looked over his shoulder and saw Felix land beside him. “Are you alright? Is the Mayor’s daughter okay— Oh holy shit, she’s really hot.”

“Mind helping me out instead of gawking over her, please…?” Mark groaned. Felix was startled a little bit when Mark spoke, but hurriedly took Marzia in his arms. Mark could see the red on his face, and he’ll admit it made him feel a little better, despite the huge headache he was having.

Felix cast a look in Sean’s direction, and his mood changed immediately. “Dude, I don’t think Septiceye is done yet…” Mark followed Felix’s gaze and saw Sean, erupting from a pile of rubble. His wounds were steaming, and Mark could see that they were healing rapidly.

“Fuck, seriously…?” Mark was dumbfounded. He was sure he had defeated the man, but upon seeing him, he knew this was just the beginning.

The thing about Amplifiers is, well, it’s in the name. It can _amplify_ a hero’s superpowers, and it was different for each hero. Mark liked to call it a hero’s Ultimate Form, mostly because it reminded him of Dragon Ball Z. Unfortunately, Mark was one of the rare few that _didn’t_ have an Ultimate Form. Felix did. Sean did.

And Sean in his ultimate form was a monster. Literally.

Mark watched as horns began to protrude out of Sean’s skull, black as coal. His arms became ashy in color, and his hands and feet grew claws. His teeth were sharp, and his ears pointed. A little devil’s tail swished behind him as large bat wings spread from his back. This was Sean’s Ultimate Form, the Demon Jester.

“I’ll take the Mayor’s daughter to safety. You do what you can, I’ll come as soon as possible,” Felix told, and he flew off with Marzia in his arms.

Mark was about to make a sarcastic remark, but he could barely process his thoughts. Both his mind and body were weak. He stood up, knees weak and head pounding as Sean eyed him from across the court, a long, sly grin plastered to his face, only made more menacing by his demon horns and sharp teeth. Mark took this brief moment to reevaluate his life, how he broke his alarm clock for the umpteenth time, how he was late to the meeting, how he _thought_ he was over with this damn fight, and now he has to fight this crazy, demonic Irishman.

Man, life really loved Mark right now.

Sean flew at an alarming rate, closing the distance between him and Mark. His long claws wrapped around Mark’s neck before he could even realize it. Mark was also a couple hundred feet in the air before he could even realize it. The damage done to him was already taking its toll on his body and frankly, the pain was only making him sassier.

“What’s the matter, cat got your tongue?” Sean hissed, chuckling to himself.

“Well, if you read my mind, you’d be getting a very good insight to my passive-aggressive thoughts,” Mark shot back, making Sean angry. He threw Mark across the court before hitting the adjacent building.

Mark stared at the sky in the direction that Felix had flown away. “How long do I have to stall?!” he yelled, though he didn’t really expect to receive an answer. “You’re just putting her somewhere safe! Why is it taking so damn long?!”

“Who the hell are you talking to?” Sean growled before smacking Mark’s face with the back of his hand, throwing him off to the side. The sharp spikes on his arms and hand made several deep cuts on Mark’s face, the blood dripping down his cheek. Mark stood back up, only to stumble on his own feet and fall right back on the floor, crawling backwards, away from the approaching villain. Sean, with his claws unsheathed, brought them high above his head, ready to strike.

Out of the corner of his eye, Mark could spot a small figure approaching Sean from behind at a fast rate. Mark recognized the golden fur and the pink cape. Never before in his life did he ever feel so happy to see Chica.

Chica, the glorious, superhero golden retriever tackled Sean from the side, knocking him away from Mark. Chica happily ran to her master, licking his bloodied face. Thanks to Chica’s enhanced saliva, Mark’s wounds seemed to be healing. From behind her came two other figures, with bat wings that were small compared to Sean’s. They looked at Mark and panicked, rushing to his aide.

“Mark! Are you alright?” said the skinnier figure, Matt. You could practically see the bones on the guy. “We came as soon as we heard the explosion, but Ryan over here was still busy with his nap…”

“Hey! For your information, I haven’t slept like that in years!” said the other, Ryan, who was a lot plumper compared to the talking bone of a man. “And Chica held us back, too! We had to find her mask and her cape…”

Off to the side, Sean stumbled in the rubble, getting to his feet. He glared daggers at the three newcomers and flew at them, claws unsheathed. The two men screamed, sounding quite like girls, before shapeshifting into smaller animals. Sean flew past them and hit another pile of rubble to the other side. Mark got up as well, pushing Chica off his chest, his wounds fully healed.

“Alrighty, then…” Mark prepared, letting Chica step in front of him, growling as Sean stood up once more. “Chica, speak.”

Before Sean could even charge after them, he was blown away by Chica’s supersonic bark. Mark held tightly to his ears, and so did Matt and Ryan, though in animal form. Sean was blown pretty far away from them, and Mark could tell it would be a while before he could recover from Chica’s bark.

“Good girl!” Mark said happily to his dog as he petted her fur.

“Listen, Mark,” called up Matt as he ran up to Mark’s shoulder in lizard form. “You see, we’re not much fighters as we are distractions.”

“Yeah, I don’t know how we could help you with this one…” added Ryan from Mark’s other shoulder, squeaking from his mouse form.

“Well, Chica and I will do all the fighting. Boys, do what you do best.” Mark looked towards where Sean was floating about, getting himself reoriented. He looked to his shoulders where the lizard and mouse were. “Distract him.”

“Yes sir!” they both chimed before shifting into crows and flying towards Sean, pecking and clawing at them. “Hey there, mister! What’s the matter, crow got your tongue?” Mark heard one of them say, it was probably Ryan.

“What the-? Get the fuck off me!” Sean yelled, trying to shoo the crows away.

“Quick, Chica, bite him!” Mark commanded, and immediately the dog piped up and tightened her jaw onto Sean’s ankle. He yelped very loudly, trying to get Chica to let go while simultaneously trying to fight off a pair of crows. It was quite the sight, Mark added.

“All you guys are startin’ to piss me off!” Sean yelled, letting out a burst of energy that sent the boys and Chica away from him. His sharp blue eyes looking around wildly around him as steam rose from his body. He was getting prepared to fight again, his claws and fangs getting sharper.

But it was already too late as Mark had delivered the final blow to Sean’s jaw. Sean was sent tumbling into the concrete once again, but this time he was out for good. The two boys flew back down to the ground before shifting into their normal, human forms. Chica flew next to Mark, rubbing at his legs playfully. Mark took a sigh of relief; the fight was finally over. But the surrounding buildings were all destroyed in the process. The government isn’t going to like that. At least they saved all that they could.

Another explosion went off inside City Hall, taking the group by surprise. Mark eyed the building suspiciously.

“Hey, you guys fly back to check up on everybody,” Mark ordered. “If you find Felix there, tell him he’s a dumbass for ditching me.”

“Wait, where are you going?” “Don’t you want us to come with you?” came Matt and Ryan’s response. Even Chica looked at her master worriedly.

“Don’t worry, I’m just going to check inside and make sure everything’s alright.” Mark turned back to them with a smirk. “I’ll be back as soon as possible, don’t worry.”

Mark ran off into the building, leaving his friends behind. He felt better than before, but he still wasn’t in his best condition. He could’ve turned back with the others, but something didn’t feel right to him. Mark felt like something sinister was happening on the inside of City Hall. He made his way up the stairs before seeing across the hall that it was empty. Just as he was about to leave, however, he heard voices speak.

“I’m telling you, I have no idea what you’re talking about!” came a worried voice, a voice that sounded like the Mayor’s.

“Don’t play with me, Mayor. I know you have his journal in here somewhere,” came another voice, low and eerie. “And you’re going to give it to me.”

Shivers went up Mark’s spine. He knew that voice from anywhere. It was Cryaotic, but what was he doing here? Mark moved forward, peeking into the doorway to see the two figures in the room.

“Look, that journal was just a bunch of nonsense! Nobody knew what it meant!”

“So you did have it!” Cryaotic sent his smoky, dark matter towards the Mayor, lifting him above the ground. The creepiness of it all, partnered with Cryaotic’s smiling mask, Mark couldn’t handle it. And most of all, Mark was confused. What the hell are they talking about?

“Okay, okay! We did have it!” the Mayor pleaded, struggling against the dark matter. “But it’s gone! Someone stole it!”

“Who stole it?” Cryaotic’s voice got deeper, almost more demonic the angrier he got.

“We don’t know!” the Mayor was sobbing at this point. “We gave the journal and all his files to the Smithsonian! We didn’t know what to do with it!”

“Impossible! We just checked it about a week ago and it was still there. If it weren’t for that bloody Markiplier…” the venom sounding off when his name was mentioned, Mark almost wanted to run away. But he was too curious; he wanted to know more.

“The day after Septiceye Sean broke into the Smithsonian to steal the files, someone actually stole it! No one knows who did it, so please don’t hurt me or Marzia…”

“Hmph.” Cryaotic dropped the Mayor to the ground. “Interesting…” Cryaotic snapped his head to the doorway, staring straight at Mark. “Did you catch all of that, Markiplier?”

Before Mark could run, Cryaotic’s dark matter had already caught him. He was dragged into the room with the Mayor, hanging upside down by his ankle.

“It’s rude to eavesdrop, Fischbach. I thought your daddy would’ve taught you that.”

“Don’t talk about my father like that!” Mark tried to thrash at him, but the more he moved, the more he felt constricted.

Cryaotic eyed Mark with curiosity, examining him even. “I wonder if he put all the information in you… He’s precious, precious son…”

The dark matter crawled up his body until it was already up to his chin. It slowly crawled up and over his eyes, and then everything went black.

Memories flashed before Mark’s eyes, but in rapid fire, from start to finish, as if someone was looking through them. Mark could hear the echo of Cryaotic’s voice in his mind.

“What a beautiful childhood. If only I can say the same.”

Mark couldn’t do or say anything to fight back. He stood motionless, within his own mind, he was trapped. The memories kept flashing until it stopped to a memory from a year ago, the day Mark had fought with his brother.

“Sibling rivalry. Good thing I had no family to begin with.”

Soon enough, the memories stopped and Mark was left alone in the darkness.

“I know it’s in you. After all, you are his favorite son…” Mark could feel a sharp pain in his head, and he screamed and groaned in pain.

“Stop it…! Get out of my head!” he yelled.

“I know it’s in here!” Cryaotic yelled, and the pain got even stronger.

Mark woke up on the floor, still in the same room as Cryaotic and the Mayor. He was dizzy and groggy, the world spinning all around him.

“What a shame. I really thought he would’ve told you, or at least implanted something into your brain.” Cryaotic walked over to Mark’s body. Before he could get up to fight him, Cryaotic simply kicked him in the face.

And for the second time that day, Mark blacked out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay for action and super powers!  
> So yes, that is Anti. And yes, Darkiplier will be here, too.  
> And for Matt and Ryan, I don't know why, but they remind me of those little demon servants from Disney's Hercules.  
> Anyway, next chapter's going to be fun because we get fun analogies and Jack opens up about his feelings for Mark! YAAAY  
> (See you guys in like a couple of months).


	3. 2. Jack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Character Profiles
> 
> Name: Mark Fischbach  
> Age: 25  
> Power: Superhuman Abilities and Slight Telepathy  
> \- He has super strength and speed, and he can also fly. He can also move things with his mind, but he has difficulty doing so. He usually gets a headache after.  
> More Details:  
> Mark is the youngest of the Fischbach brothers. He was very close to his father and his brother, until a year ago he got into a fight with his brother, Thomas. They haven't spoken since. He is a famous hero for the Alliance, and he has a large fanbase. He is kind-hearted and charitable. He can be funny, too, and sometimes he can be sarcastic and a bit rude. He can be quite loud, but he's generally a nice person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'VE NEVER UPDATED THIS QUICKLY.  
> Sorry if Jack seems a bit OOC, it's hard to translate his character in a way. (Plus, I'm more familiar with Mark's personality than Jack's).  
> It's not as long as the last chapter, but it's still 5,000 words, I guess. I really wanted to reach 6,000 words again. :P  
> Oh, and I'm not sure if I want this story to have smut in it. I might put a lot of teeth-rotting fluff, but if you guys want a smut chapter, then I can deliver~ ;)  
> I'm going to fulfill the tradition and update on a Monday.  
> Enjoy~

The Irishman stormed into his office. He was a little bit disgruntled, but he was trying to be optimistic about it. His clothes were torn off, and his head hurt like hell. What’s worse is that his hair is an absolute mess! But at least he got out of that fight with only a few cuts, bumps, and bruises. Besides, there was another problem at hand.

“Where are you, you little brat?” he called out, gazing around his office for the familiar sight of a floating green eyeball. He heard a noise behind him, and immediately he whizzed about, turning on his heel, and he saw the bastard about to leave through the front door. Its long, green tail was already on the doorknob.

“Oh, hey Jack!” the eyeball said a little _too_ excitedly. “I know you probably want to talk to me right now, but I gotta go somewhere so bye! Ugh—“

“You’re not going anywhere!” Jack tugged on the eyeball’s tail before it could fly away, just barely making it out the door. “You ditched me in the middle of that fight!”

“I mean; you went into your Ultimate Form so I thought you got it covered…!” the eyeball tried to defend itself.

“He had reinforcements!” Jack yelled back.

“It was his dog and his roommates!”

“For your information, his dog has super powers and his roommates are changelings.”

“Pfft, how am I supposed to know that…?” the eyeball was obviously trying to avoid the subject, but Jack was smarter than that.

“We’ve been fighting him for a year!” Jack finally let go of the eyeball’s tail, letting him float about the room. He rubbed his temples in irritation. “Whatever. It’s fine, Sam.”

The eyeball was about to cower and hide before Jack got angry again, but after seeing him calm down, it turned back to face him. “Sorry ‘bout that, Jack…”

“It’s fine, really. I was just stalling for Cry anyway. As long as he doesn’t get mad at me, we’ll be fine.” Jack was just about to take a sit in his chair, maybe drink some tea (or maybe some whiskey), and just relax from a long day of fighting, but then suddenly the door flew wide open, and at the doorway stood the looming presence of Cry.

Jack stumbled to sit up in his chair, nervously staring back at his boss. Sweat already started dripping down the back of his neck. “Uh, hey Cry…” Jack started awkwardly. “D-Did you need anything?”

“Yes, Sean…” Cry lingered on his name, sending chills down his spine. “I’d like to see you in my office. We need to have a little chat.”

“Um, of course, sir.” Jack and Sam stared at each other in confusion.

“Alright, I’ll see you there then.” Cry left the room, but Jack was still frozen stiff. Cry never usually calls him to his office; he only did it for special and serious occasions. Not to mention the fact that Cry sounded a little… pissed.

Deciding not to stall any longer, Jack stood up and followed Cry to his office.

**_~:::~_ **

Jack sat on a chair, sitting in front of Cry. Cry’s office is much like a library; walls were lined with bookshelves that contained many books. Behind Cry’s desk was a table used for planning and strategies. But at the very back of the room was a door. No one in the League knew what was behind that door, but knowing Cry, they didn’t want to know.

Time seemed to pass slowly in the room. Cry sat in his chair silently, his arms on his desk and his chin resting on his hands. The eyes of his mask stared right at Jack. He couldn’t help but shift around in his seat; it was getting really uncomfortable with Cry just staring at him.

“So…” Cry began after a while, scaring Jack and causing him to jump a little. “Today’s battle wasn’t one of our best, wasn’t it, Sean…?”

“N-No, sir….” Jack can’t help himself from stuttering whenever he talks to Cry.

“And unfortunately, we didn’t get what we wanted either…” Cry tilted his head, staring even more. Jack could feel his heart pounding away in his chest. _Damn, why is this guy so damn creepy?_ Jack thought to himself.

“So, why am I here…? Did I mess up or something?” Jack wanted to get this conversation over with, and he also wanted to get away from Cry as soon as possible.

“Hm…” Cry paused, but then he sat back up in his chair. He turned around and stood up, grabbing something from the table behind him before sitting back down. “This, Sean, is a deck of cards.” Cry took the deck out of its sleeve and began mindlessly playing with the cards.

“I don’t see your point, sir…” Jack was getting _really_ scared now. Knowing Cry, he could probably chop his head off with that deck of cards.

“Well, much like in a deck of cards, people have certain roles they can play.” Cry took one card out of the deck and placed it on the desk. “For example, Pewdiepie is like the King of Diamonds. He comes from a wealthy family, and he is the current Head of the Super Hero Alliance. He can be smart, but he is also quite charming…” Cry took out another card. “Markiplier is like the Jack of Hearts. He’s the favorite of the Alliance, and all of his fans love him. He’s the face of goodwill and charity; you’re perfect, lovable superhero.” Cry paused, looking for another card in his deck. He glanced up to Jack to make sure he was paying attention. Jack was a little startled at the sudden motion, but he had been listening.

“You, Sean…” Cry began before placing the card on his desk. “You are like the Joker. The Jester. The Wildcard. Depending on the game you play, you can be the strongest card in the game, or you can be the weakest link. I trust in you a lot, Sean. Sometimes you do exceptionally well, and other times you disappoint me. Last week’s heist of the Smithsonian is something I’m not taking lightly… But today’s performance was good enough. Not perfect, but still not bad.”

_I still don’t understand where he’s going with this…_ Jack pondered, but Cry kept on going.

“But the good thing about you is, not only are you a Wildcard to the League, but you are also a Wildcard to the Alliance. That is why I called you here today, Sean. You see, I was going over some of your files this morning, and I found something quite _odd_ …” Jack started sweating in his clothes, which were still torn and tattered from the fight. _If Cry found_ those _files, I’m so screwed…_ “I found a file dedicated to your Nemesis, Markiplier.”

_Fuuuck…_ Jack was about ready to kill himself. He got caught; he got busted. They’re definitely going to kick him out now. And worse, Cry is probably going to kill him.

“The contents of the file are something I won’t go over, but I had an idea…” You could almost see the smirk form underneath Cry’s mask. “Usually, I would be furious if I found out one of my men had a sexual desire for one of our enemies, but I thought that this would be perfect for us…” Cry leaned in towards Jack, and Jack tried really hard to lean away from him. “I want you, Sean, to quit the League. Or rather… I want you to let us kick you out.”

“… What?” Jack was confused. So Cry isn’t mad that Jack has a file devoted to Markiplier? Cry wasn’t going to kick him out, but he’s going to do it anyway?

“Simple, really, I thought you’d understand.” Cry sat back in his chair, and Jack was allowed to relax a little bit. “I want you to get kicked out of the League and find help from the Alliance. Since they know how much I trust you, they might see you as a valuable source of information.”

“So then what do you want me to do?” Jack was curious. Well, the plan might go entirely wrong and he could get killed, but he was still curious.

“I want you to tell me what they know about the Forces.” Cry said simply.

“The Forces…?”

“Right, you don’t know…” Cry stood up once again and grabbed the chess board just across the room. He sat back down, preparing the board game. “You see, Sean, there are three Forces in this world that holds it all together. There’s the Light Force and the Dark Force. Let’s use the black chess pieces as the Dark Force and the white chess pieces as the Light Force.”

“Then what’s the third Force? You said there was three, right?”

“Very observant, my little pet…” Cry chuckled. Jack didn’t like the fact that he was being called a pet _or_ the fact that Cry just chuckled. “The third force is much like the entire board that the pieces stand upon. The two Forces, Dark and Light, don’t like each other very much, and they fight each other very often. But it is the third Force that brings them together. Not only are these forces present in the universe, but they are also powers that can be used by people. For example, Pewdiepie’s light energy is the manifestation of the Light Force, and my dark matter is a manifestation of the Dark Force. And the third Force, well, no one has it _yet_ …”

Jack didn’t like how he lingered on that last word.

“And you want me to get more information about it…?” Jack considered. All of this was getting confusing, but at least Cry was good with his analogies.

“Yes. But I want them to trust you as well. Give them all the information we have on it as well, as long as you get just as much back.” Cry sat back in his chair in a relaxed fashion. “Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir…” Jack reluctantly agreed. Well, it’s not like he had much of a choice. Cry was his boss after all.

“Good. Now go get your rest, we’ll begin tomorrow.”

“Okay, but wait a minute…” Jack called out to Cry before he could return to his work. “The thing about the cards, how you said I was like the Joker… What are you then?”

“Oh, me? Well, I am like the Card Dealer…” Cry picked up the deck of cards again, playing with them and shuffling them over and over. “I know the strength and worth of each card in every game, even that of the Joker, the Wildcard.”

“Ah, I see. Well, see you tomorrow, sir.” Jack was just about to leave the office before he heard Cry call out to him.

“I may trust you, Sean, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know what you’re doing…” Cry‘s voice sounded low and menacing, sending chills down Jack’s spine once again. Jack said his farewell before quickly leaving Cry’s office.

**_~:::~_ **

Jack couldn’t get much sleep in last night. He kept thinking about what Cry had told him yesterday, about the Forces and such. Could Forces that powerful actually exist? Jack wasn’t really a man of faith since he didn’t really care, but this peaked his interest and confusion.

Not to mention today was the day that he was going to be ‘kicked’ out of the League. He was going to miss his dark and murky office space, making fun of his other supervillains, and more importantly, fighting off the good guys. Jack has had too many bad memories to make him a good-willed superhero, but how he _had_ to be one. He always thought they were fake, that they were only doing it for the glory and the fame. He hated them for that. They never really cared for others, only what others think of them… But Jack didn’t want to dive in too far into those dark times.

Though he had to admit, something about being a superhero made Jack excited. He didn’t know why. Or rather, he did know why, and he just doesn’t want to admit it.

He was excited because he could actually be with Markiplier.

The thought made him all bubbly inside, and that grossed him out. _Curse you, feelings!_ Jack thought to himself. He curled up in his bed, bringing his legs to his chest, and burying his face in his knees. His face was bright red with embarrassment. He thought over and over about how he would introduce himself to Markiplier, but the more he thought about it, the more he hated himself.

It took a while, but Jack finally decided to get out of his bed and step into the bathroom for a good shower. After that, he would get dressed, ready for the moment of truth. Jack contemplated slipping in the shower and causing an accident, but Cry would probably still send him off to the Alliance. There was no way he was getting out of this.

The time between him getting out of the shower and getting out into the city seemed to be a blur, because right now at this moment, Cry was already sending off shots of dark matter at him to start a ‘scene.’

_“Okay, we’re going to start in front of the complex, and I’m going to start attacking you,” Cry explained to Jack, who was still tired from his lack of sleep._

_“What? What if I get hurt?” Jack replied, worried for his own wellbeing._

_“That’s good. It means you don’t have to fake it,” Cry said flatly, no expression coming from him or his mask. “I’m also going to start shouting at you, so you better play along. Think of it as like an improvisation.”_

_“And if I say something wrong…?”_

_“Then you better be good at dodging, because I won’t hold back anymore.”_

That was the conversation they had before Jack got into this mess. Jack was flying for his life, dodging any dark matter that came his way. He was also struggling to find the right words to say, seeing as he’s still sleep deprived and still a little shocked at what’s happening.

“I trusted you, Sean. But you have failed me,” Cry called out, before firing off another beam of dark matter. Jack swerved away from it. He had forgotten to ask Cry if it was okay for him to fire back, but at this point, he was too afraid to ask.

“I did my best, you know I did!” Jack yelled back, dodging another dark matter beam.

“Your best isn’t good enough for me.”

As predicted, a lot of news and TV vans came over, trying to film what was happening. They all fought for the perfect shot since it was rare to see the Head of the League fight something himself. It won’t be long before the Alliance hears about this and starts sending heroes over.

Cry wasn’t being too subtle either. He was purposely hitting nearby neighborhoods with his beams, causing large explosions and destroying other people’s homes. Jack just pretended that Cry was doing that to draw more attention when he really knows that Cry is doing it for his own pleasure and to fulfill his bloodlust. He would also hit Jack with his beam every now and then, making Jack weaker and weaker as this fight went on.

The fight started to feel more real than fake. Jack wondered if Cry was just using this as an opportunity to let out all his pent up anger against him.

“Cryaotic, stop right there!” yelled out a voice with a Swedish accent. Jack turned around to see Pewdiepie and Markiplier. Jack’s heart skipped a beat upon seeing him, but he decided not to acknowledge it.

Cry chuckled before calling out to them. “Good, it seems the garbage collectors are here. Now they can pick up this trash,” he stated, pointing towards Jack. Part of him felt like Cry wasn’t really acting.

Jack could see the confused looks on Pewdiepie’s and Markiplier’s faces, but he had to keep rolling with it. “You can’t throw me away like I meant nothing to you!”

Jack flew in towards Cry, hoping he could tackle him or something. Instead, Cry caught him by the throat, his grip tightening. Jack started choking, gasping for air; he didn’t think Cry would retaliate so quickly. He actually started to suffocate, and it seemed like Cry didn’t care one bit.

Cry brought Jack in close, whispering into his ear but at the same time calling it out loud enough for Pewdiepie and Markiplier to hear. “You were nothing to me, you disgusting snake.”

Jack thought he really was going to die, but then Cry threw him to the ground. As the dust cleared, he gasped for breath. He was physically battered from how many dark matter beams he had taken, and he felt like he couldn’t fly back up there to fight Cry anymore. He really felt like he was going to pass out.

Cry raised his hand, prepared to send even more dark matter his way. He released a large ball of it, heading straight for Jack. A flash of white appeared before Jack’s eyes, and suddenly Pewdiepie was protecting him with his force field.

“Are you okay?” Pewdiepie asked. He looked worried but suspicious at the same time. He knew Jack was in trouble, but he also knew Jack was a villain.

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine…” Jack coughed, struggling to catch his breath.

“Hey, Cryaotic!” Suddenly, Markiplier’s voice came from above. “This is payback for last time!” Markiplier flew in, trying to punch Cry in the face, but he vanished into a dark mist. He was gone, just like that.

“Hey, Mark, get over here!” Pewdiepie called over, helping Jack get to his feet. Mark flew over, and Jack could feel himself turn red. This was the closest he’s been to Mark without them beating each other to death. “We need to bring him back to the Alliance.”

“What?! But he’s a villain!” Mark yelled. Jack felt his chest tighten, and he felt a little sad.

“Didn’t you hear Cry? I don’t think they’re on the same team anymore…” Pewdiepie let go of Jack, letting him stand on his own. “Do you think you can fly to the Alliance?” he asked him.

“From here…?” Jack replied, not meaning to sound as weak as he did. “I’m not too sure…”

“Hmm, alright.” Pewdiepie turned to Mark. “Mark, you carry him there.”

“What?!” Jack and Mark yelled at the same time.

“B-But, he’s a villain!” Mark mentioned again, bring more pain to Jack’s chest. Usually, he would act cocky and arrogant around his nemesis, but at his condition, he could barely think straight. And now that he’s no longer a villain, maybe he didn’t have to act anymore…

“Why do I have to carry him? Why can’t you?” Mark’s voice drew Jack away from his thoughts.

“Because he’s your nemesis. Plus, you’re stronger than me.” Before Mark could retort, Pewdiepie already flew off towards the Alliance Headquarters.

“Ugh…” He turned to Jack, who was already very flustered. “Just because I’m doing this doesn’t mean anything, got it?” Mark walked over, grabbing Jack and carrying him bridal style. Jack was so embarrassed; he didn’t even want to see it. He closed his eyes tightly, his face extremely red.

“Hey, are you okay?” Jack opened his eyes to see Mark staring at him, looking confused. “Why’s your face all red?”

“N-Nothing!” Jack yelped before closing his eyes in shame once more.

The flight to the Alliance Headquarters was silent; not a single word was spoken between the two. When Jack got there, he was amazed. He’d only ever seen the Alliance HQ from afar. He was amazed at how clean and bright it was compared to the darkness that was the League Complex.

Now that he thought about it, where was he going to live now? The League Complex was his home, the only place that put a roof over his head. He didn’t have any money to afford a hotel, and the Alliance HQ looked more like an office building than a living quarter.

“Here, this is just as a precaution.” Jack was startled as he realized Pewdiepie was placing handcuffs around his wrists. He also noticed that he was wearing a suit instead of his superhero costume. Were the heroes of the Alliance always this formal? Jack took a moment to look down at his own clothes, which were tattered and torn in multiple places.

“Are you strong enough to talk? If you are, we need to have a word with you,” Pewdiepie said, acting sophisticated and business-like.

“Uh, yeah sure…” Jack stuttered. He was then escorted to a meeting room where he was sat at the very end of a long table. Other heroes were gathered there as well. Some wore casual clothing, others semi-formal, and a couple of others still in their hero costumes.

“Sean, if you don’t, we would like to ask you some questions,” Pewdiepie stated coolly. All eyes were suddenly on him.

“Sure, ask away. Oh, and just call me Jack, please.” Jack didn’t like it when other people called him Sean. It brought back too many bad memories. Cry’s the only who uses it since he doesn’t care much for Jack’s feelings. That and Cry was very close to Jack’s past.

The faces of the heroes on the table looked confused. Jack couldn’t blame them. Yesterday he was being his usual arrogant self, but now he was acting polite and cool. Complete change of character. But then again, Jack was intimidated by the amount of heroes in this room.

“Alright, but only if you can call me Felix.” Pewdiepie, no, Felix replied back, a small smile on his face. Well, first things first, what happened back there?”

“Uh, Cryaotic and I had gotten into a fight…” Jack stated, but the table didn’t seem satisfied.

“Yeah, we can tell,” came Mark’s sarcastic voice. Jack looked at him and shot a glare.

“Well, we were fighting because…” Jack trailed off. He realized he never spoke about this to Cry. What was he going to say? “Because I was trying to find out more about the Forces…” he continued, hoping he said the right answer.

“The Forces? So Cry knows about them, too, huh…” Felix followed. “What else happened?”

“Um...” _Wow, that actually worked…_ Jack thought. “I thought Cryaotic was acting strange from yesterday, so I started going through his files…” _Or rather, he went through_ my _files, the little prick,_ “and saw this file about the Forces. I didn’t read much into before I got caught, and that’s how the fight started.”

“I see, so you don’t know much about the Forces?” called out a man from the table.

“Only that they’re forces of the universe, and that the third one brings the other two together.” Jack was telling the truth, at least. It made it easier to convince them.

“So you know just as much as we do…” Felix brought a hand to his chin, deep in thought. “But that doesn’t mean Cry doesn’t know anything else.”

“That’s all he knows,” Jack blurted out. All eyes were on him once again, and he struggled to find another lie to tell. “Well, uh, that was his only file. He doesn’t know anything else.”

“Well, that’s good news,” Felix stood up, turning to Jack. “So then he found you and kicked you out, right?” Jack nodded. “Then that’s the end of it. That concludes today’s meeting. I know it was short, but it was important, alright everyone?”

The heroes from the table stood up and got their stuff, leaving the meeting room. “Mark, stay here,” Felix called out, stopping Mark before he could leave the room.

“Ugh, again…?” Mark moped, making his way towards Jack and Felix.

“I want you to bring Jack home with you.” Jack stiffened, turning to Felix to retort, but Mark did it for him.

“Me? Again?!” Mark yelled.

“Yes. It isn’t safe to just leave out on the streets; he can still go crazy and start attacking civilians.” Jack mentally fired back, saying he wasn’t crazy. “At least if he’s with you, the people can be safe. Plus, you know him more than anyone else in the Alliance does.”

Felix turned to Jack. “Is that alright with you?” Jack returned with a small nod. “Good. Jack, could you please stand outside for a moment? I need to speak with Mark privately.”

Jack left the room, standing by the door. His face turned red again over the thought that he was going to live with Mark from now own. But he became curious. What were Felix and Mark talking about in there? Jack took a peek inside, listening to their conversation. After all, Jack was still a bad guy at heart.

“Have you spoken to your brother yet?” That was Felix’s voice.

“No, and I already told you, I’m not going to,” came Mark’s voice.

“Mark, can you just suck it up and go ask him? This getting more dangerous as days pass!”

“Yeah, but you heard Sean. Cryaotic doesn’t know as much as we do.”

“He _might_ not know as much as we do. I’m pretty sure he’s trying his damn best to get information before we do, and we need to act!”

Jack was confused, but he listened on.

“Tch, fine… But you can’t expect me to do it in just a day… It’s going to take time.”

“Well, don’t waste it too much. Time is valuable to us, Mark. We need information on the Forces.”

Jack was shocked. So Mark’s brother had answers about the Force? That’s exactly what Cry wants. Jack tried to remember who Mark’s brother was. He’s only seen him a couple times, and he’s pretty sure he was Cry’s nemesis at some point. Jack could hear Mark’s footsteps getting closer to the door, so he got up and tried not to seem suspicious.

“Come on, let’s go.” Mark sound grumpy and pissed, but nevertheless, he followed him into his car.

Mark’s home wasn’t too far from the city. He lived in a small apartment, two bedrooms, two bathrooms. He even had a study for himself. Jack took a peek into the room and saw various gaming consoles and a treadmill. Mark lead him to his second bedroom, which was mostly bare save for the bed and a closet.

“This will be your room, I guess. I have some old clothes in the closet, but I’m not sure if they’ll fit you,” Mark gestured to Jack small physique.

“Um, mind taking these handcuffs off?” Jack lifted his wrists to him, letting the handcuffs dangle on his arms. If Jack was just a little bit skinnier, he could slip through them easily.

“Nah, I’m keeping them on you, just in case.” Mark waved the keys to the handcuffs teasingly in front of Jack’s face.

Jack stormed off into his new room, kicking the door closed in frustration. He flew into his bed, exhausted. He still hasn’t changed his clothes, and he was still tired from lack of sleep and the fight with Cry. Today was just his lucky day.

He got out of bed, heading towards the closet in hopes of finding something that fits him. Just under the closet was some drawers. He opened them, digging through the baggy shirts and loose pants until he found a reasonably sized tank top and basketball shorts. Jack struggled to that his shirt off, but eventually he was able to change. The clothes didn’t cling to him well, and the straps to the tank top kept slipping off his shoulders.

Jack folded the others clothes and placed them back into the drawer until he found something interesting underneath. He took it out and saw that it was a sketchbook. He opened it, revealing beautifully detailed pictures and drawings of people and animals. The pages were old and a bit wrinkly. Some pages even had water spilled on them, and the drawings were a bit distorted. Jack kept turning the pages, staring at the pictures and drawings until he saw something odd. The more and more he turned the pages, he noticed these weird symbols etched into the corners of the pages. As he kept turning the pages, the symbols got bigger and more disconcerting. One page was just filled with the strange symbols, making Jack’s head spin. He turned to the very last page and saw it was filled with the same symbols. Only this time, the symbols were arranged in a way that it looked like a letter.

“What are you doing?” Mark’s voice caught Jack off guard. He quickly closed the sketchbook and stared back up at Mark. Mark was also wearing a tank top and comfortable looking pajama pants that had pink mustaches on it. The tank top he wore showed off Mark’s muscles in a way that made Jack blush.

“Oh, I was just looking through this sketchbook.” Jack handed him the sketchbook, and Mark started looking through it. “You’re a good drawer.”

“Oh, these aren’t mine. I don’t draw.” Mark closed the book and stepped out of the room.

“Then whose are they?” Jack asked, but he regretted it immediately. Mark’s face was suddenly shadowed, looking angry but sad at the same time.

“It was my brother’s…” he said slowly. Mark walked over the kitchen, opened the trash can, and threw the sketchbook in there.

“H-Hey! You shouldn’t throw it away!” Jack got up, yelling at Mark. “What if your brother needs that?!”

“Well, he gave me that cabinet and closet, so I guess it’s mine now. I can do whatever I want for it.” Mark said coldly.

“You shouldn’t disrespect what isn’t yours!” Jack fired back.

“Yeah, would know about disrespecting other’s property, wouldn’t you, Sean?” Something had struck within Sean, bringing back a dark memory from before, where he was a child.

_“Of course you would do something like that, wouldn’t you, Sean…”_

“What if your brother needs that? Shouldn’t you just keep it for him—“

“You don’t know a damn thing about us!” Mark yelled, cornering Jack to the wall. Both of his hands were planted next to Jack’s head. “You don’t have any idea what happened between us, so you don’t have a say in what I do!” Jack’s ears started to ring, and his heart started to beat fast. He only felt this way whenever he was with…

Cry…

“You can’t tell me what to do, so leave me the hell alone!” Mark stopped, taking deep breaths. Jack could see the sweat dripping down Mark’s forehead. He stumbled back, clutching his head in pain. He looked up at Jack, who was still terrified. A look of regret and disappointment came to Mark’s face.

“I… I’m sorry,” he apologized, his expression becoming calm and gentle. “I don’t know why…”

“Mark…?” Jack called out, trying to see if Mark was okay. He walked over to him, but Mark shoved him away and ran past him. Mark ran into his room and slammed the door, locking it. Jack looked back, trying to process what just happened.

He sighed. _This isn’t going to be easy…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, I love the taste of angst in the morning.  
> Oh no! What's happening to Mark?! D: (It's Darkiplier, totally. :P)  
> I had fun with the analogies, and I like writing Cry's character (so many burns).  
> My favorite quote from this chapter, "Good, it seems the garbage collectors are here. Now they can pick up this trash.”  
> There's gonna be more angst next chapter since we get to see what's happening on Mark's end ;) Also, expect a lot of fluff.  
> Anyway, see you guys next Monday.


	4. I'm Sorry, Guys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Character Profiles
> 
> Name: Sean McLoughlin  
> Age: 24  
> Power: Magic, Super Strength, and Super Speed  
> \- Like Mark, he has super strength, speed, and the ability to fly. He also has access to magic powers, but it is unlike Cryaotic's dark matter. He can access his Ultimate Form, nicknamed the Demon Jester, giving him horns and black wings. His superhuman abilities are amplified, but he is unable to cast magic.  
> More Details:  
> Sean is the League's most valuable member, despite him having several quarrels with Cry. He was orphaned as a child, and it is rumored that he went to the same orphanage as Cry when they were younger. Cry is said to have deeper ties to Sean's past, but neither of their histories has been made public.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry for the extremely late update.
> 
> And yes, this is an apology, and yes, I did not post this on a Monday. I'm sorry about that.
> 
> More details will be at the end of the chapter, but I still wanted to post what I did have for you guys so you aren't left hanging from the last chapter.

Memories flashed before Mark’s eyes again, only this time, they were more disoriented and made no sense. It was as if someone took snippets of his life and tried piecing the different parts together. The scenes would keep rearranging themselves, making up strange sentences and phrases. Eventually, the memories played with each other over and over again, and Mark tried to understand the5 words.

“I know… you… have it…” the memories played. “You will… give it… to… me…!” The memories played this sequence repeatedly, getting louder each time. It wasn’t long before Mark heard another voice, a deep, dark voice that yelled out the words. Static noise started to fade in with the rest of the sounds, and Mark couldn’t help but cover his ears.

“ _I KNOW… YOU… HAVE IT…!_ ” the voice yelled, louder and louder. “ _YOU WILL… GIVE IT… TO… ME…!!!_ ” The noises all mixed together, and Mark couldn’t take it anymore. He let out a yell, a cry for help.

Mark woke up in a cold sweat. He jumped up in his bed, panting and struggling to catch his breath. He could still hear a faint ringing in his ear, but other than that, he couldn’t hear anything else. Chica looked up at her master, her eyes bleary and tired.

“Ugh, sorry, Chica…” Mark apologized, patting his dog on the head. “I just need some water…”

He got out of bed and into the kitchen to get himself a glass of water. He stood in the kitchen for a while, his head throbbing from his nightmare. Ever since his confrontation with Cryaotic, he’s had terrible migraines and nightmares much like the one he just had. And due to his sleep deprivation, he tends to snap at people…

The same way he had snapped at Sean earlier today.

When Mark had realized what he did, he ran straight to his room, regretting what he did. It was like something was controlling him, but he didn’t know what. He and Sean didn’t speak after that, and Mark couldn’t help but feel guilty about it.

On his way back to his room, Mark decided to take a peek into Sean’s room. The room had no decorations in it and was meant to be a spare room for anyone who wanted to spend the night over. Mark walked over to Sean, watching as he peacefully slept. It was weird seeing him like this. Seeing him so vulnerable. Usually, they would be at each other’s throats, but now they had to live with each other. Mark brushed away some of Sean’s stray hair subconsciously, wanting to see more of his face. He looked so calm, and he had to admit, he looked cute, too.

“Mark…” Sean mumbled in his sleep. A blush suddenly crept onto Mark’s face, turning it into a deep shade of red. _I should apologize to him later…_ Mark thought to himself as he left Sean’s room.

Mark still felt all jumbled up and confused. Though he was tired, he felt like he couldn’t sleep. He had to keep moving, clear his mind. As he laid in bed motionless, he decided he would go out for a run. He gathered his shirt, some shorts, and a jacket. He pocketed his phone and plugged in his earphones, listening to some calming tunes to keep his mind straight.

Mark was used to running around the neighborhood like this, especially when he felt like getting a workout. It was still dark out, the stars lightly glinting above him. Light started to creep into the sky from the distance. The streetlights were still on. As soon as Mark left his apartment, he felt the cold bite of the air. No one was out at this time, naturally so, leaving Mark to jog alone.

The birds had just started to stir, singing their morning songs. Mark used to enjoy hearing them tweet, but for some reason today was different. The constant hum and buzz of the birds kept Mark on edge. Every little sound the small neighborhood made caused Mark to jump; the rustle of bushes in the wind, the waking and barking of several dogs, the swift sound of squirrels rushing up trees. Mark felt unnecessarily paranoid. From the corner of his eye, he could see a dark figure across the street, following him. It made no noises, and every time he turned around, it was gone. But Mark knew it was there.

Slowly, Mark’s jog turned into a run.

The shadow kept pace, silently sliding down the streets. Mark felt the air get colder every time the shadow got closer. He felt his heart beat faster, his chest tightening. It wasn’t long before he started sprinting, his superhuman speed kicking in. Luckily, no one was awake to see him run at such high speeds. The shadow followed relentlessly, growing bigger and reaching its dark tendrils closer to Mark. He felt one of them touch his ankle, and a shiver went through his spine. Mark knew it was there because all the animals in the neighborhood started rousing. Dogs barking, howling, and whimpering as the shadow passed. Birds would chirp loudly then go silent. Cats would hiss, standing on their toes and curving their backs. Something was definitely following Mark.

When Mark finally stopped, he realized he was already in the city. The sun had already peaked through the mountains. Other early morning joggers were awake as well, giving Mark looks as they passed by. Mark looked around him, wild-eyed. The shadow was gone. He looked up and realized where he was. He was resting at a corner of a street, a street that led right to the statue of his father.

The statue was grand, and rightfully so. After all, it was a statue to commemorate the greatest hero of their time: Grand Justice. Mark used to stare at the statue with awe, especially when he was a new recruit of the Alliance. Being the son of someone so great felt amazing. But now, Mark glared at the statue with fear and uncertainty. He always wondered if he could ever live up to his father’s name.

That statue gave him peace from the shadow that followed him. He took a deep breath, sighed, and walked back home.

**_~:::~_ **

When Mark came back home, it was nearly 10 o’clock. Sean was well awake by then, and he was standing in the kitchen, frowning. Mark would’ve been upset if he didn’t notice what the Irishman had been wearing. Sean donned a frilly pink apron over his tank top and basketball shorts, and his feet were snuggled into Mark’s bunny slippers, which were far too big for him. It almost made him laugh, but then Sean began to yell.

“Where the hell have you been?!” Sean’s voice boomed throughout the apartment, his voice cracking to the sheer loudness of it.

“Shh!” Mark quickly hushed the ill-tempered man. “You’re disturbing the neighbors!”

“Me?” Sean looked offended. “You, sir, have been gone for nearly five hours!”

“What?” Mark looked at him, confused. Five hours? If it was 10 o’clock by now, then five hours ago would’ve been… at least around 5 in the morning, which was when he had gone for his run. “How long have you been awake?” he questioned.

“I woke up as soon as I heard the front door closed! I fell asleep not thinking about it, but I wake up two hours later and you _still_ weren't home!” Sean’s face turned red from the shouting, and Mark almost found it cute, paired with his frilly apron and all. Sean started to pat Mark’s chest with a spatula, which he had been holding this entire time. He also noticed that Sean still had the handcuffs on. He should probably take those off of him soon. “You had me so… You had me so…!” he began, but Sean couldn’t find the word for it.

“Worried…?” Mark guessed. Sean only grunted in frustration, storming back into the kitchen and proceeded to cook his sunny-side eggs and mashed potatoes. Huh. Mark hasn’t been worried for in a year, ever since he and his brother fought. Of course, his mom still worried over him, too, but that was natural. Mark almost felt touched.

“Go sit down or some shit, breakfast will be ready in a few minutes,” Sean spoke, his face in sort of a pout. Even then, his face was still red, probably with embarrassment than with shouting.

Sean set the plates of the hot breakfast on the table, and the two of them began eating in a begrudging silence. Sean was still pouting a little, and Mark was suddenly hit with a burst of exhaustion. His mind was a bit loopy, and his eyes started to droop. But then, his eyes opened wide in realization.

“I’m late for work!” Mark yelled. He stuffed his face with food before running into his room to just throw on some random assortment of clothes. After he got change, even without a shower, he ran up to the door. Just as he did, however, he looked at Sean’s confused face.

And then he had another realization. Because Sean is no longer a villain, that means that he is no longer Mark’s nemesis, which also means that Mark doesn’t have a job anymore.

Mark’s face turned bright red. He had just rushed to eat and change only to realize that he didn’t need to. He sat back down in the dining room, pouting just like Sean had.

“You alright there, gramps?” Sean teased as he ate a spoonful of his mashed potatoes.

“I hate you,” was all Mark could say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're reading this, and you've been following this story for a while, thank you for your support. If you're new to this story, then I'm sorry that it's come to an abrupt end.
> 
> This year really took it's toll on me, and I've been feeling very depressed and stressed lately. I am lucky enough to have a special someone to take care of me, but even then it's been rough. Things are looking better, though, and hopefully the new semester can mean a new start for me.
> 
> Now, the reason why I couldn't write any more for this story is because I lost inspiration. I started writing this chapter right after I posted the last one, and I was so motivated to keep writing for you guys, but unfortunately I couldn't. It's bad in my part since I tend to give up on things a lot.
> 
> This, however, doesn't mean I'm stopping this story. I still have a bunch more to write, but expect shorter chapters and longer waiting periods. This story kind of stressed me out in a way, since I was really pushing myself to reach 5,000 words per chapter. It made me sad that I couldn't reach my goal, and that's what put me off from it. If I keep updating this story, it's going to at least have 1,000 words per chapter. I do still want to keep writing this, especially if it's for you guys because the one thing I won't give up on is on the people that believe in me the most. Thank you for all the support you have been giving me despite all the long waits! I very much appreciate, and it gives me hope in the lonely world.
> 
> I do hope to pursue writing in my future. another reason for my abrupt stop is because I want to write my own original novels. I have two of them planned, one that's going to be posted on the internet, and another that's more of a professional, serious gig. Now, I don't know where I will be posting the first story, but it might be WattPad. It's a shame I can't post original stories here since I quite like this community more than the ones I've seen in FF or WP. 
> 
> Anyways, enough rambling. Just know that I am very grateful to have people who will support me, and I refuse to disappoint. There will be another chapter, but not until next year most likely.
> 
> Happy Holidays, everyone! See you in the next chapter~


	5. 4. Jack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really short and quick update!
> 
> I churned out this chapter so quickly in a rush of INSPIRATION *teary-eyed* I haven't had inspiration in so long ;u;  
> (it's only a 1,000 words and Mark is barely in it but he's def gonna be in the next chapter)
> 
> HAHAHAHA I REGRET NOOOOTHINGGGG

Jack woke up in a daze. He felt like he had just been hit by a truck. Suddenly, he remembered that something happened last night. A headache crawled into his senses, leaving him to crawl into his bedsheets in pain. He was trying to remember what happened the day before.

**~:::~**

_“Hey, Sean- Uh, Jack…” Mark mumbled, looking down that hallway at the Irishman. Jack had found Mark’s collection of video games and started playing some Rocket League. He got really good after a while, which was impressive considering that he still had handcuffs on._

_“Yeah?” Jack called back, keeping his eyes on the screen, but only because of two reasons. One, he had the ball and was_ so ­ _close to scoring a goal. Two, Jack realized that Mark has been trying to call him ‘Jack’ instead of ‘Sean,’ and to him, that was just another step in their relationship._ Ugh, stop using the word ‘relationship’, me, _Jack thought to himself as a blush lightly tinted his face._

 _“You don’t mind if one of my neighbors comes by to play, do you?” Mark asked. He walked into the living room and sat on the couch directly behind Jack, who was unceremoniously sitting on the floor. Mark kept his eyes on the TV screen in front of him, ‘hmm’-ing in amusement. Jack caught himself trying to lean on Mark’s legs, but Mark didn’t even seem to notice. Jack took a silent, deep breath and slowly propped himself on Mark’s calves, and Mark was just watching Jack play Rocket League. Even his calves felt strong._ Stop it with the impure thoughts, Jackaboy! _he thought in frustration._

_“Uh, no, not at all,” came Jack’s curt reply. You could say that Jack was a little bewildered and frustrated. Why was Mark being so nonchalant all of the sudden?! They were mortal enemies only a couple of days ago! Mark still won’t let him out of these damn handcuffs!_

_“Cool beans.” Mark stood up and headed back to his room, only to stop halfway and turn back around. “But…”_

_Jack paused the game and turned around at Mark. He looked as if he was thinking of the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything. Then, out of his back pocket, he pulls out a little key that, in his huge hands, looked like a little bracelet charm._

_“My neighbor would think it’s weird if you had handcuffs on.”_

_Bliss! Complete and utter bliss! No longer will he have to awkwardly put clothes on or struggle to cook food for himself. Jack got up excitedly and trotted towards Mark. He looked reluctant, but he unlocked the handcuffs and set Jack free, free at last!_

_“Woohoo!” Jack whooped in excitement, only for Mark to shush him._

**_~:::~_ **

Jack’s thoughts were interrupted by a knock on a door. A knock that sounded a lot louder than it’s supposed to be. Jack got up and realized that he had no pants on, but he was in too much pain to remember why.

            “Mark!” he called out, but there was no reply. Jack shuffled his way across the room and found his pants. He put them on then made his way out his room. He noticed that the door to Mark’s room was open and that the room itself was empty. Chica was gone, too. Confused, Jack walked into the kitchen to find a note on the dining table.

_“Went to walk Chica. Be back in a few. – Mark”_

Jack grumbled, and the knocking on the door insisted. It was probably Mark, and he probably forgot his house keys or something. Yeah, that sounds like something Mark would do. When Jack opened the door, he was greeted by an unfamiliar face.

            “Uh… Are you Mark Fischbach…?”

            The man (though he was barely a man) standing in front of him was a little taller than Jack. His face was babyish but sadly also covered with acne. The top of his hair was dyed a light blue, and he wore an orange jacket and some jeans. He looked sheepishly at Jack, who in return gave him a scrutinizing look.

            “Who are you?”

            The boy (because he was clearly no older than 21) jumped in surprise. He started to mumble to himself, and fumbling his hand into his bag, searching for something. He pulled out a piece of paper. A flyer.

            “Uh, there was a flyer posted around here about a couple of weeks ago. It said that this apartment was looking for a roommate!” he yelped, shoving the paper towards Jack’s chest. Jack continued to look dumbfounded.

            “Well, too bad. Mark already has one.” Jack was about to close the door on the boy, but then he caught it, pushing it open with a surprising amount of strength.

            “That’s not possible! I called here just last week! I-I talked to Mark and he said that I could move in anytime this week!” The boy looked desperate, and Jack almost felt bad for him. But Jack was born a villain and had no sympathy, only annoyance.

            “Well, change of plans. I’m his roommate now.” Jack went to shut the door again, but then the boy slammed it wide open. It happened so quick that Jack was taken back in surprise.

            “S-sorry…” the boy apologized weakly. “B-but I can’t just leave! The moving van is going to be here in a few days, and I don’t have anywhere else to go!”

            Jack looked the boy up and down. Something was up with him, but Jack couldn’t put his finger on it. What he knew for sure is that he mustn’t know about Mark and Jack’s other life.

            “Fine. Come in and wait for Mark to come home.”

            The boy beamed. He took his luggage in and sat on the couch, admiring the apartment he was in. Jack looked around, too. He can safely assume that he went drinking last night, so he’s surprised that the place is presentable. Maybe Mark cleaned up before he left.

            “By the way, kid, what’s your name?”

            “Uh, Ethan. Ethan Nestor.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's right, my crazy boisssss
> 
> I knew I had to put our beloved Ethan in there somewhere, just didn't know how. BUT NOW I DO. I can't say if he'll be a crucial part of the plot, but he definitely will be a reoccurring character. It is kinda awkward to write this considering Matt and Ryan are out of the picture. I don't know if I'll incorporate that in there, too. (Who knows, maybe Mark can get TWO new henchmen *wink wink* *nudge nudge*)
> 
> If you can guess who the other henchman will be, you get a free Christmas Cookie.
> 
> Anyway, happy holidays, y'all.


End file.
